It’s not known when the committee will meet, so it’s possible the strike could stretch out for days.

The waiting frustrates parents, students and union leaders, who’ve marched and crowded the state capitol for legislative hearings.

“We’re playing with people’s emotions, their livelihoods and it directly affects our students,” said Christine Campbell of the American Federation of Teachers. “This is unprecedented. It’s confusing and I think (teachers are) disheartened by the process.”

Supporters and school employees strike for West Virginia teachers on March 2, 2018, in Morgantown, West Virginia, as the public school educators demonstrate in the name of better pay labor policies. (Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Gov. Jim Justice and the union leaders agreed earlier in the week that teachers and service personnel would receive a 5% pay raise.

However, that raise must be passed as a law, since West Virginia is not a collective bargaining state.

The bill quickly passed in the House Wednesday, but Senate lawmakers expressed concern about how the state will fund the raise.

Democrats say new revenue projections show the money is there and that a difference of one percent would amount to $13 million.

On Saturday, after hours of passionate argument and discussion by lawmakers, the state Senate passed a version of the bill that provides a 4% raise.

The House voted not to adopt the 4% version of the bill. With no agreement between the chambers, the conference committee was created.

A woman holds a sign breaking down teachers’ pay while supporting the statewide strike on March 2, 2018, in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Three members from the House and three from the Senate — two Republicans and one Democrat — were selected. The group will have three days to come to a decision about the bill.

A brief period of confusion occurred Saturday night after the Senate believed it had voted for the 4% raise. But a House version of the bill, which favored the higher pay raise, had somehow been entered into the Senate voting system and was approved by unsuspecting Senate members. When the error was discovered, the Senate corrected the mistake and re-voted for the lower pay raise.

Elizabeth Yost, a teacher from Mercer County, said she was not discouraged by the votes in the legislature.

“When the events unfolded from there, it was evident we have a representative government in the Senate that abused power last night,” she said. “Today, my determination, and that of my colleagues, is stronger.”